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Crusaders hoping do-or-die playoff mentality pays dividends

Oct 18, 2017 | 5:00 PM

For the third time in just over five weeks, the John Paul II Crusaders and Martensville Royals’ senior football teams will go head to head.

But this Saturday, the season is on the line.

Crusaders head coach Bruce Yockey said he firmly believes that when playoffs begin, it’s like a brand new season and the quality of play amps up.

“We’ve seen that over the years. We had a team a couple years ago that was one game over .500 and we went to the provincial final. Things change,” Yockey said. “Their mentality changes a little bit too when you start to realize, ‘Hey, I’ve put in a lot of time here but if we lose the next game the season is over with.’ And that mentality helps them definitely increase the effort.”

That means that although JP won the first two head-to-head meetings this year — by scores of 28-21 and 19-7 — Saturday’s elimination game is truly up for grabs.

“It’s a good matchup. It’s pretty even,” Yockey said. “This week [in practice] more than anything we just wanted to get back to basic fundementals…Just keying in on good tackling technique, that our offence is executing properly.

“This Saturday we need to put up more points inside the 20-yard line. I’m ecstatic that we were able to kick some field goals [last week], it’s nice to have some special teams work, but I’d rather have that three points turn into six. It goes a lot further.”

What the game may well come down to, according to Yockey, is clock management.

Last week, he said he was impressed with his team’s ground game.

“If we are able to get a lead, I think that’s going to be huge in maintaining that and eating up the clock,” Yockey said. “That was a really good step forward with [us]. We just took the ball and we kept on running and ate up a lot of clock.”

Although Yockey admitted a couple games this season got away from the team, he said he is pleased with the progression the younger players have made.

He said overall, the team is just about at where he thought they’d be.

“I knew we had a lot of young players. I was hoping for probably one more win this year,” Yockey said. “I’ve been really happy with the progression [they’ve] made throughout the season. They’re getting stronger. Their knowledge of the game is increasing. We’ve actually probably been able to increase our playbook a little bit, which has been a real benefit.”

The Crusaders once again have to carry on without their best defensive player in Andrew Pyle, who was lost halfway through the regular season after a concussion. His loss is tough to deal with, as Yockey said it’s a player you simply can’t replace. But quarterback Brady Holhoyi, who dealt with knee and ankle issues, saw those areas heal up nicely, according to Yockey. 

Saturday’s do-or-die playoff game will be played at Crusader Field at 1 p.m. The winner will move on to the provincial quarter-finals, where their oppponent will likely be Lumsden, who went 5-0 in the regular season in conference two.

 

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11